Beertopia: Leffe’s Blond

This column reviews a beer based on aroma, appearance, taste and palate (mouthfeel). At the end of each review, we score the beer based on a five-star system (one star meaning you will likely regret ever drinking such a horrible concoction, five stars meaning it’s your new favorite beer, and two, three, and four stars falling somewhere in between).

Surprisingly, Leffe is a beer brand owned by InBev Belgium, which, you guessed it beer fans, is the European branch of the dreaded AB InBev. I say surprisingly, however, because unlike almost everything AB InBev produces Leffe beers don’t suck. The history of the abbey where the beer was originally brewed is actually pretty interesting, as it has been severely damaged several times, but the beer hasn’t been brewed there since 1952. These days, it’s brewed at the Stella Artois brewery in Leuven, Belgium.

Although there are eight beers brewed under the Leffe brand, today we’ll be looking at Leffe Blond. Though it is called Blond, which I’m guessing is short for Blonde ale (they don’t really clarify on their website), it could also be labeled a Belgian pale ale. As loyal readers of Beertopia know, there are many different styles of pale ales, but the common thread amongst all of them is that they are made by warm fermentation using predominantly pale malt.

Blond is brewed year round and has a relatively high 6.6 percent ABV. It has a really interesting aroma of clove and spice along with strong fruit smells, particularly ripe banana. The beer pours a nice honey color and has a large white head that doesn’t dissipate quickly.

For such a strong and interesting aroma, the taste is actually pretty subtle. However, it isn’t necessarily a bad thing with this beer. Its flavor has the banana and spices from the nose but also some light herbal bitterness from the hops. Blond is also a bit sweet but not overly so. The mouthfeel is medium-bodied with pretty high carbonation, which leads to a crisp finish and an easily drinkable beer.

Overall, this is a very good beer. At only around $8 for a six pack, it won’t break the bank either, which gives it a few extra points. Although it isn’t a great beer as far as Little Utopia standards go, it’s pretty close to that much-coveted distinction and is definitely one that you won’t regret having tried.